founder
1 Americannoun
verb (used without object)
-
founders,
present (3rd person singular)
-
foundered,
past participle, past
-
foundering
present participle
-
(of a ship, boat, etc.) to fill with water and sink.
-
to fall or sink down, as buildings, ground, etc..
Built on a former lake bed, the building has foundered nearly ten feet.
-
to become wrecked; fail utterly.
The project foundered because public support was lacking.
-
to stumble, break down, or go lame, as a horse.
His mount foundered on the rocky path.
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to become ill from overeating.
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Veterinary Pathology. (of a horse) to suffer from laminitis.
verb (used with object)
-
founders,
present (3rd person singular)
-
foundered,
past participle, past
-
foundering
present participle
-
to cause to fill with water and sink.
Rough seas had foundered the ship in mid-ocean.
-
Veterinary Pathology. to cause (a horse) to break down, go lame, or suffer from laminitis.
noun
noun
verb
-
(of a ship) to sink
-
to break down or fail
the project foundered
-
to sink into or become stuck in soft ground
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to fall in or give way; collapse
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(of a horse) to stumble or go lame
-
archaic (of animals, esp livestock) to become ill from overeating
noun
noun
noun
Usage
Founder is sometimes wrongly used where flounder is meant: this unexpected turn of events left him floundering (not foundering )
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
foundersimple
-
founderssimple
-
have founderedperfect
-
has founderedperfect
-
am founderingprogressive
-
are founderingprogressive
-
is founderingprogressive
-
have been founderingperfect progressive
-
has been founderingperfect progressive
Past
-
founderedsimple
-
had founderedperfect
-
was founderingprogressive
-
were founderingprogressive
-
had been founderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of founder1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English found(o)ur, foundere, fundre “original builder of a city, church, castle, or city; founder of a country,” from Anglo-French fundur, from Old French fondeor, from Latin fundātōr-, stem of fundātor; see origin at found 1; see also -er 1 ( def. )
Origin of founder2
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English foundren, funder, fonder, from Old French fondrer “to plunge to the bottom, submerge,” from Vulgar Latin fundorāre (unattested), derivative of fundor-, an s -stem noun interpreted as stem of Latin fundus, actually an o -stem noun (stem fund- ) “bottom”
Origin of founder3
First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English foundour, founder, from Old French fondeur, from fondre “to melt, cast”; see origin at found 3, -er 1
Explanation
The person who creates an organization or a company is known as the founder. Founder is also a verb meaning "fail miserably," which is something a company's founder hopes the company will never do. As a noun, founder means "the beginner or originator of something." You might talk about the founder of a nation, the founder of club, or the founder of a website. As a verb, founder can mean “stumble,” like when you trip and fall, but more generally it means "collapse or fall apart." A sports team might founder by slumping on a ten-game losing streak; a ship that sinks in a bad storm can be said to have foundered at sea.
Vocabulary lists containing founder
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Gray is a founder, scientific advisor and board member for Shenandoah Therapeutics.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
"To get hold of a Messi match-worn shirt is incredibly tough because everybody knows how valuable they are," said Doug Bierton, founder of Classic Football Shirts.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Neko, which was co-founded by Spotify founder Daniel Ek and engineer Hjalmar Nilsonne, last month opened its first preventive-health clinic in the U.S.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
He has been instrumental in implementing her strategy of "de-demonisation" to try and rid the party of the toxic legacy of its founder, her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was openly antisemitic.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
“He’s founder and CEO of Sinclair Scientifica, a mammoth multinational technology company that makes everything from microchips to missiles,” said Mother.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
AfCRA's founders say there will be no government interference.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Many advisory firms have a particular kind of client they serve—be it “high net worth” or company founders or some other niche.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
The partnership between Garelick’s American High Studios, Live Nation Studios, and, in turn, the Rolling Loud founders and organizers, was essential to make that goal achievable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Seven in 10 Gen Z founders used AI to help start their business, according to Gusto’s research.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
She muscled her car through traffic while regaling them with stories about the crazy families of Atlanta—the old plantation owners, the founders of Coca-Cola, the sports stars, and the CNN news people.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Authentic specializes in acquiring and investing in famous retail properties that have foundered.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2026
Instead, they foundered in the breeze, squeezing out whatever bitter juice was left in a dirge that would prove to drag on for at least another week.
From Slate ● Feb. 23, 2026
Earlier efforts to establish a U.S. rare-earth industry foundered because China has flooded the market, undermining the business case.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
They have delivered big, one-off victories in the Six Nations, but in the eight years on Townsend's watch, when the moment in the campaign has arrived to kick on and properly challenge, they have foundered.
From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2025
Our first attempt to explore how consumer product companies exploit class foundered when a major cosmetics company, which initially agreed to let a reporter inside their marketing department, got cold feet.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
The commitments from senior management and an influential figure like Ma, who is no longer on the company’s board, helped to shore up Alibaba’s foundering share price.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
But by the time Polanco became a free agent last winter, his career was foundering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2025
The unusually large, half-point rate reduction is expected to be the first in a series of cuts, aimed at helping keep the economy and the labor market from foundering.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2024
What’s more, in the Spy magazine era, Mr. Trump was just a local nuisance, a braggart presiding over a foundering casino-hotel empire.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2024
“Joseph,” I begin, foundering well beyond my depth.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
